Every team has injuries during camp. It happens. The Colts lost Ben Ijalana for the season during practice this week. He was a 2nd round pick just a year ago. Chargers are having issues with LT Gaither, Meachem got a knee injury, Ryan Matthews was in a car accident. Stuff happens.

When the elbow is dislocated posteriorly this can be either partial (also known as a subluxation) or complete. With a partial dislocation the joint surfaces are separated by a small distance with little or no deformity readily apparent and usually reduce (return to their normal position) either instantly or with very little help. A complete dislocation occurs when the joint surfaces are considerably separated and can require a manual reduction maneuver by a doctor, as apparently was reported in the case of JJ.

With a partial elbow dislocation, there is seldom significant stretching of the ligaments or nerves or permanent functional loss. With a complete dislocation, this cannot be said.......especially if an accompanying fracture is involved (something that does not seem to be the case.

With what little information has been made available, my best thoughts would be for his elbow, depending on the extent of the injury, to be immobilized anywhere from 1-3 weeks, then range of motion exercises to hopefully regain full motion, then muscle strengthening rehab to give optimal stabilization of the joint. It is likely that he will return to play anywhere from 3-6 weeks with an elbow support. Keep in mind that the elbow is the 2nd most common MAJOR joint to sustain dislocation. It is a heck of a sturdy joint and it took a heck of a force to dislocate it in the first place.

Will he have any issues in the future because of stretched ligaments? Any speculation on the odds of some nerve damage?

Sorry. but that's all the potential projections I can make with the present level of information. Ligament status (stability) and neurovascular status (strength/sensation) is something that will be evaluated at intervals during his rehab, but I doubt that this will be shared with the outside world, unless something is grossly obvious. It would be interesting to know if JJ is left-handed, as this injury tends to be a little longer rehab if the dominant arm is involved.

Sorry. but that's all the potential projections I can make with the present level of information. Ligament status (stability) and neurovascular status (strength/sensation) is something that will be evaluated at intervals during his rehab, but I doubt that this will be shared with the outside world, unless something is grossly obvious. It would be interesting to know if JJ is left-handed, as this injury tends to be a little longer rehab if the dominant arm is involved.

Thanks for the info Doc,

Looks like JJ is really iffy for week one. I just hope they dont rush him back and JJ plays at 70/80% like they did with MW/AJ.

When the elbow is dislocated posteriorly this can be either partial (also known as a subluxation) or complete. With a partial dislocation the joint surfaces are separated by a small distance with little or no deformity readily apparent and usually reduce (return to their normal position) either instantly or with very little help. A complete dislocation occurs when the joint surfaces are considerably separated and can require a manual reduction maneuver by a doctor, as apparently was reported in the case of JJ.

With a partial elbow dislocation, there is seldom significant stretching of the ligaments or nerves or permanent functional loss. With a complete dislocation, this cannot be said.......especially if an accompanying fracture is involved (something that does not seem to be the case.

With what little information has been made available, my best thoughts would be for his elbow, depending on the extent of the injury, to be immobilized anywhere from 1-3 weeks, then range of motion exercises to hopefully regain full motion, then muscle strengthening rehab to give optimal stabilization of the joint. It is likely that he will return to play anywhere from 3-6 weeks with an elbow support. Keep in mind that the elbow is the 2nd most common MAJOR joint to sustain dislocation. It is a heck of a sturdy joint and it took a heck of a force to dislocate it in the first place.

Normal alignment after the elbow has been reduced:

Partial elbow dislocation (subluxation):

A complete elbow dislocation:

Stop it Doc Sean... That stuff freaks me out!! I cringe everytime that I see things that just aren't right!!

Texans defensive end J.J. Watt was at practice on Friday with a sling on his left arm, holding his dislocated left elbow in place.
...

“I walked in the training room this morning at five minutes after 5, and he was already there,” Kubiak said. “That’s J.J. He’s going to be banging to get on this field as quick as possible, but we’re going to do the right thing, get him to opening day full-speed. Hopefully, that means he’s playing a little bit in the preseason toward the end, but if that’s not the case, I’m going to do what’s right. But he is gonna be back.”

Watt’s injury occurred on a play in which he had his left arm fully extended to tackle running back Arian Foster. Contact with Foster pushed his arm back while a defensive teammate ran into the back of his arm, pushing his elbow forward.

From the story at houstontexans.com, which includes some details about the athletic trainer popping it back in.

Playing in at least one pre-season game would be helpful for getting into football shape, so he's doing everything possible to get to that point.

Quote:

After he was injured on Thursday, Watt received thousands of messages from fans via social media with well-wishes for his recovery. He was greeted to a roaring cheer from the crowd at the Methodist Training Center on Friday when he walked on to the field around 8:30 a.m.

“It’s awesome,” Watt said. “We have unbelievable fans. They’re amazing. I really appreciate them, all their support on Twitter, on Facebook, everything, so I’m grinding to get back out here for them, too. They’re so important to us, I want to get back out there for them.”

Rajon Rondo is roughly half the man that JJ Watt is and he played against the Heat a couple days after dislocating his elbow. I'm sure JJ will be fine by week 1, which is about 5 weeks away.

Rondo played that game essentially with his left arm braced and dangling. He dribbled and shot with his right hand and protected his left arm. Luckily, he was right-handed. The situation is different in that in basketball he was able to get by with a legs and right-handed only performance. That is not something that JJ would be able to pull off in a football-type arena. BTW, two months following his injury, Rondo reported that he was experiencing some range of motion limitation and significant ongoing pain and joint swelling. Three months following his injury:

Quote:

"Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo said he still has swelling in his injured left elbow, but noted he has full range of motion and doesn't expect it to be a major issue moving forward. Rondo, appearing at a Red Bull event celebrating renovations at Malcolm X Park, admitted he can't participate in full-contact basketball activities quite yet, but is making progress."

It sounds like Kubiak has some serious doubts about him playing before the regular season. That means he could possibly miss the opener. It's too early to know for sure right now.

September 9th is four days short of the six week recovery period cited by CnD. If we were talking about most other players, I would say that the odds are good that player would miss that game. But JJ is much like Andre: Someone has to hide his helmet to keep him off the field. In five weeks, he'll be recovered enough to where the medical staff will have to rely on JJ's own feedback to determine if he's ready to play. What do you think he's going to tell them?

Quote:

‏@JJWatt

Adversity makes you stronger. I will be on the field against the Dolphins. Better than ever. #BullsOnParade